This year the Jeffs are without Sharaf, and are looking to improve upon a lackluster fall season. Unfortunately, the squad's short spring season-only 10 days separate the Jeffs' first and last tournament-consist almost exclusively of weekday tournaments. Due to academic conflicts, the team could only find five golfers to attend the Palamountain: first-year Chris Valentine, juniors Andrew Bruns, Drew Russ and Sean Jules, and senior co-captain Keith Zalaski.
After a relaxing Spring Break spent playing golf at Hilton Head, the men's golf team felt the chill in Saratoga Springs. Complications arose before the Jeffs set foot on the course. Due to class conflicts, the team had only been able to scrounge up four golfers who could stay for both days of the Palamountain. At the last minute, it was decided that one coach would drive back Sunday night, enabling one golfer to attend at least one day of the tournament. Fortuitously, out of the shuffle rose Valentine. The rookie had played in two tournaments in the fall season, posting unexciting scores-90, 92 and 86. Valentine chose a good time to shine; his 79 on the first day of tournament play was the best score the Jeffs saw all weekend.
"I didn't hit the ball particularly well but through some advice from [Head] Coach [Jack] Arena '83 about improved thinking around the course I was able to keep big numbers off the scorecard," said Valentine. "The team struggled a little under inconsistent winds and course conditions but we're all just preparing our games for Little Threes next week."
Valentine's score meant that this was the first tournament of the year that Jules failed to lead the Jeffs in scoring; in the fall Jules was the only Jeff to consistently score in the 70s. Jules' impressive play was capped by a fifth-place finish at the NESCAC Championships with a 76-75-151 to earn first-team all-conference honors. Unfortunately, at the Palamountain even Jules was unable to play a decent round, and he posted his two worst scores of the season, 86-84-170.
In the fall season, Bruns was a regular starter and could be depended upon to post sub-80 scores. Though he did lead the Jeffs in two-day scores at the Palamountain, Bruns did not play his best golf. While he struck the ball well, Bruns was unable to sink a putt, and ended the tournament 81-82-163. Russ showed a lot of promise in the fall, proving himself capable of posting low scores. At Hilton Head his game seemed to be coming together, but it apparently dismantled this weekend, and he posted 81-86-167. Zalaski rounded out the lineup with a 90-93-183.
"I had trouble getting the ball off the tee. Let's just say that the ball and I got into a fight and the ball won," said Zalaski. "But Valentine played like a savage-any man that can get up at
8:00 a.m. and post a sub-80 round is a stud in my book."
But the team agrees that the important thing is how they rebound and prepare for Little Threes. "I played to my heart's content but didn't score the way I wanted to and even though our team didn't post a great number, we are certainly dedicated to coming into Little Threes firing on all cylinders," said Russ.
The Jeffs resume play on Wednesday at the rescheduled Lou Flumere Invitational.